Music Monday Celebration

A group of over 300 young choristers and musicians celebrated the annual Music Monday event at the National Arts Centre here in Ottawa on May 7. Music Monday is all about spreading a love of music throughout Canada’s youth and strives to make music eductation more accessible to children through school programs and music awards. “Singing makes me feel happy”, said Annie, a member of the Cantiamo Training Choir, when I asked her what she loves about singing.

When I asked Katherine, a member of the Cantiamo Girl’s Choir the same question, she replied: “My favourite thing about music is how powerful it is. Music can change your mood and make you happier. Music can bring people closer together. Choir helped me to meet some of my closest friends! Music is a universal language that everyone can understand and enjoy”. As our conductor Jackie Hawley says, everyone is a musician inside, and singing is something that everyone can do and enjoy. In this way, music brings us together in amazing ways.

A love of music can start at an early age, even in babies. I think that it’s important to give young children the opportunity to engage in music and try out different instruments and singing. “When I was nine months old my dad had me in a baby carrier and walked past a shop at a temple in China where a man was playing a flute made out of a dried calabash. When I heard the music, I started to wriggle my body to the melody. When my dad walked away from the music, I stopped. When he returned to the sound of the flute, I started to do my little baby dance again!,” said Tong, a member of the Cantiamo Apprentice Choir.

It’s great that Music Monday exists and is doing so much amazing work for our country. I hope that Music Monday continues to spread a love of music throughout Canada and that there are many more Music Mondays to come. “Music is important to me because it makes me happy. And when I sing with Cantiamo it makes the people who listen happy too”, concluded Tong.